⌜ chapter twenty-one ⌟

After listening to the boys argue about whether or not to bring the Colt, Isla grabs her weapons bag from the bed of her truck and then shuts the tailgate. She starts to walk past the cars, but Dean quickly grabs her arm and makes her stop. Her eyebrows furrow as she looks up at him.

"You're not coming with us, you're staying here."

"Like hell." She argues. "What is with you? You didn't want me helping back in Salvation, you tried to steal my keys and ditch me at Bobby's with Minx, now this?"

"I told you why I didn't want you coming with us back in Salvation, and it's the same now." His voice is low as Sam watches them from a few feet away. "These sons of bitches took my dad, and I'm not letting you put yourself—"

"I was hunting on my own for four years, Dean. I know what I'm doing."

"These aren't some inbred hillbillies—"

"I just exorcized a damn demon. I know what we're walking into. And it was my contacts that got us your dad's location." She reminds him. "I don't need to be coddled like some incompetent little kid."

"I'm not trying to coddle you. Damn it, Isla!" He lets out a frustrated sigh as he runs his hand down his face.

"And you think that's gonna help your argument?" She questions. "At what point have you ever gotten anywhere by snapping at me?"

Dean looks down at her, and she raises her eyebrows as she waits for his next attempt at making her stay behind. Before he can talk himself out of it or overthink the consequences, he leans down and presses his lips against hers, hoping his actions will tell her what his words can't. He catches her completely off-guard, but she responds to him instinctively as she kisses him back.

His hands move to rest on either side of her face as he steps closer to her, deepening the kiss. He moves his lips against hers, the moment between them coming as naturally as the first night they kissed. Her hands rest on his sides before her fingers curl around the fabric of his flannel under his utility jacket, and then he breaks the kiss, resting his forehead against hers.

"Same deal as before — you stay where I know this son of bitch can't touch you, and I promise that I'll make it back." He says, his voice low as he tries to catch his breath. "What do you say, angel face? Please?"

"Go before I change my mind." Isla tells him, and the corner of his mouth twitches before he pecks her lips one last time.

Dean turns away from her then and heads toward his brother. "Shut up." The older boy tells a smirking Sam as he walks past him, his own weapons bag slung over his shoulder.

Not long after they leave, Isla hears sirens and then fire trucks drive by. It's not hard to puzzle together the boys' plan, and she has one of her own. She isn't gonna sit around and do nothing just because Dean kissed her and said please. But she isn't gonna draw any attention to herself either.

The blonde makes her way toward the apartment complex, but she knows that the three men won't be able to walk out the front door and leave with city workers blocking the exit and demons on their tail. They'll take a different way out, so she rounds the building until she sees a fire escape on the side of the building. She then finds a place to hide where she can see what's going on around her.

She eventually sees the three men coming down the fire escape from where she's hiding. Dean's down first and he's helping John, and Sam lands on the sidewalk just after their dad. The older boy has to keep helping their dad as they walk, and Sam takes the lead. He walks out past a truck that's parked on the side of the road, and he's tackled by a man in jeans and a black jacket.

Dean sets John on the sidewalk and has him lean against the side of the building before running over to try and help his younger brother. He kicks him in the face, but it barely affects the demon, and then he sends Dean flying into a car windshield. The glass cracks under him, and he groans as he rolls down the hood.

"Hey!" Isla yells, and the demon looks up just as she pulls the trigger on the Colt. The bullet flies through the air, and hits him in the center of the forehead. The demon's body jerks as what looks like blue lightning courses through him, and then he falls to the side.

Dean looks over at the blonde for a moment before running over to help his brother back to his feet. Isla clicks the safety back on as she moves to tuck the gun into the inside pocket of the utility jacket she's wearing. Then she rushes over to them and tells Dean that she'll help Sam so that he can help their dad.

Sam wraps his arm around her shoulders and leans on her for support as Dean rushes over to his father, and Isla looks down at the body laying on the ground. His eyes are still open, but there's no black beside his pupils.

"Come on!" Dean yells when he hears more sirens. "We gotta get outta here. Isla, let's go!"

—

They found a cabin to hide out in for awhile so that John can get his strength back, and Sam's salting the windows now for protection. Isla's sitting on an old couch, not caring about the dust or even the spiderwebs around them.

"How is he?" Sam asks when his brother walks back into the room.

"He just needs a little rest, that's all." Dean tells him, using a cloth to get John's blood off his hands. "How are you?"

"I'll survive." He says as he turns to face him. "Hey, you don't think we were followed here, do you?" He asks, and Dean looks from Isla to him.

"I don't know. I don't think so." He shakes his head. "I mean, we couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up."

"Hey, uh... Isla, you, uh..." Sam starts, and the blonde looks up for the first time since she sat down. "You saved my life back there."

"Couldn't let some ugly ass demon kill my Sasquatch." She says, and he smirks. "You're one of the few brothers I got that I can even tolerate."

"When did you even take this from me?" Dean asks as he walks over to her, sitting on the couch by her legs.

Isla smirks when she looks at him. "When you kissed me."

"Sneaky little pick-pocket." He chuckles. "Should'a known you wouldn't stay your ass with the cars."

"Kinda wish I had done as you asked — stayed out of it and away from trouble." She looks back at the gun in her hands and then holds it out for him to take. "Wasn't just a demon I killed."

"He was gonna kill Sam." He says as he takes it from her. "You did it to save him."

"But I didn't even hesitate." She looks up to meet his gaze, and he reaches over to wipe a tear from under her eye. "He was hurting Sam, he hurt you. I just moved, like it was instinct to shoot first and ask questions later. And I didn't stop for even a second when I was exorcizing the demon today. I knew Meg would die as soon as it was gone, but it didn't matter because they were threatening my dad. I couldn't even imagine a demon showing up where my mom..." She looks down as more tears fill her eyes.

"You saved Sam today, same as you saved me from that family before. We're alive because of you, doll face — that's no small thing." He says as he reaches for her hand, taking her smaller one in his. "And Meg thanked you for getting that demon out of her."

"Still..." She takes a deep breath as her fingers curl around his. "It just— It scares me sometimes."

"It shouldn't." John says as he walks out from the back room, and the three of them all look over at him. "You did good." He tells her.

Isla's eyebrows furrow. "You're not mad?"

"For what?"

"I-I used a bullet." She says, and he shakes his head.

"I'm not mad. I'm proud of you." He tells her. "You know, Sam and I — we can get pretty obsessed. But you — you're never afraid to put us in our place. And you've been watching out for my boys."

The lights suddenly start to flicker as the wind picks up outside, and they all start to look around the cabin. Dean quickly gets to his feet, and he pulls Isla up with him so that he can keep her close in case he needs to protect her.

"It found us. It's here." John says from where he's now looking out the window.

"The demon?" Sam questions.

"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door." He orders as he looks back at the younger three.

"Already did it."

"Well, check it. Okay?" He tells him, and Sam walks out of the room. "Dean, give me the gun."

"Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation, and it vanished." He tells his father.

"This is me. I won't miss." John argues. "Now, the gun. Hurry."

Dean looks at the gun in his hand and his jaw tightens as he turns his gaze to Isla. Her eyebrows furrow as her hazel eyes meet his green ones. It's not like Dean to disobey a direct order, especially one as simple as handing over the gun that's supposed to kill the demon that they've been after for twenty-two years.

"Son, please."

Dean takes a step back, his arm moving out across Isla's torso to keep her behind him. Her eyes flicker back to John as she grabs the back of Dean's flannel, her fingers curling around the material. She's confused, and she's exhausted after barely sleeping in the last seventy-two hours.

"Give me the gun. What are you doing, Dean?" John questions as he looks between the two of them.

"He'd be furious."

"What?"

"That she used a bullet. Even with Isla — he'd be furious." Dean says. "He wouldn't tell her he was proud, he'd tear her a new one." He then raises the gun and cocks it as he aims it at his father.

"Dean..." Isla grabs his arm, and he hooks it around her as he pushes her behind his back.

"He's not my dad."

"Dean, it's me." John says as he turns his body to face him.

"I know my dad better than anyone, and you ain't him." Dean says, and Isla takes a deep as she rests her forehead against his back. She's trying to put all the pieces together, understand what's going on right now.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" John questions.

"I could ask you the same thing." He says as Sam walks back into the room.

"Dean?" The youngest looks from his brother and the girl clinging to him to their father. "What the hell's going on?"

"Your brother's lost his mind." John says, and Isla knows that that doesn't sound like him.

"He's not Dad." Dean tells him.

"What?" Sam questions.

"I think he's possessed. I think he's been possessed since we rescued him."

"Don't listen to him, Sammy."

"Dean, how do you know?" The younger boy asks.

"He— He's different." Dean tells him.

"You know, we don't have time for this." John argues. "Sam, if you want to kill this demon, you've gotta trust me."

Sam looks between John and Dean, but then his gaze moves to Isla. She turns her head to look at him, and after a moment she shakes her head, telling him not to trust John.

"Sam?"

"No." He shakes his head and moves closer to Dean and Isla. "No."

"Fine." He nods as he looks between the two boys. "You're both so sure. Go ahead. Kill me." He says as he looks down.

Dean's gaze drops as tears fill his eyes. Possessed or not, he can't fathom the thought of killing his own father. This is the man he's looked up to and idolized his entire life.

"I thought so." His tone changes, and his eyes are yellow when he looks back up.

Sam suddenly flies away from them, hitting a wall on the other side of the room, and Dean's thrown back as well. Isla's knocked to the floor when Dean's forced away from her, and the Colt lands not far away.

"Go ahead." The demon says when he sees the blonde look toward the gun. "You think you can get to it before you end up like them?" He asks as he motions between the boys.

Isla turns her body to face him as she pushes herself up so she's not laying on the floor, but she doesn't get to her feet. He chuckles, knowing that she won't go for the gun. She can't kill John any more than Dean can.

"What a pain in the ass this thing's been." He says as he picks up the Colt from the wooden floor.

"It's you, isn't it?" Sam asks, and he smiles as he looks over at him. "We've been looking for you for a long time."

"You found me."

"But the holy water?"

"You think something like that works on something like me?" He questions.

Sam tries to get off the wall, but he's slammed back. He grunts and his teeth clench as he looks at him. "I'm gonna kill you."

"Oh, that'd be a neat trick." He says before setting the gun on a nearby table. "In fact, here. Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy." He taunts.

Sam looks at the gun, but doesn't say anything else. Isla looks over at Dean, and his jaw tightens when his green eyes find her hazel ones. He's been trying to protect her, but instead he brought the demon straight to her, and now he can't even move.

"This is fun." The yellow-eyed demon chuckles as he walks over to the window beside Dean. "I could've killed you a hundred times today, but this... This is worth the wait." He then turns his head to look at Dean. "Your dad — he's in here with me, trapped inside his own meatsuit. He says hi by the way. He's gonna tear you apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood.

"But you." He turns and looks back at Isla. "You interest me the most. You have no sense of self-preservation. If you did, you would'a run from the Winchesters years ago."

"I did. Didn't stick." She says, and he chuckles as he walks around her; he stops so that he's facing Dean as he looks down at her.

"Well, why would it?" He asks as he kneels down beside her. "You finally got Dean to pay attention to you. All it took was changing your hair, your body... And now you've got matching tattoos. How adorable?" He smirks as he looks at the black ink on her wrist.

"Glad you think he and I are both that shallow. Is there a point to your narrative?" She questions as she moves her right arm away from him.

"See, this is what I find so interesting about you. You have so little regard for yourself. You spent two days tied to a bed in a stranger's home, and what did you do when you finally got yourself free of the ropes? You ran to save lover-boy." Yellow-Eyes says as he looks from her to Dean. "And what's he done for you? Treated you like garbage when you first met him, barely started treating you any better after his old man forced him back into your life, made you a target for the shapeshifter that almost killed you, couldn't save you from a family of humans, started treating you poorly all over again, and made you and your family targets for the demon that killed his mother. Sunshine, I think you need better taste in men."

"Don't...call me Sunshine." She shakes her head, and he smirks as he looks back at her.

"That's what bothered you most?" He stands up straight and moves past her. "Not that he put targets on the backs of your family? You know... It was such a nice graduation ceremony."

"You— Stay away from my little sister!" She snaps as she gets to her feet and turns to face him.

"There's that lack of self-preservation." He turns to face her again. "She hasn't seen you in six years, but she cried when she saw the necklace you bought her. The older one had to console her after your parents left the room. What are their names again?"

"Leave them alone or I swear to God—"

"What?" He questions as he moves closer to her. "What are you and God gonna do?"

"Nothing." She shakes her head, tears stinging her eyes. "You touch my baby sisters, and God won't have a thing to do with what I do."

"That's adorable." He says as he circles her, and she stays in her place. "But you see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice." He stops in front of her again, looking down into her hazel eyes with his yellow ones. "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter. The one in the alley? That was my boy. You understand."

"Yeah, I understand." She nods. "So, you can understand what I'll do if you touch my family."

"Listen to that righteousness." He chuckles. "From the daughter of Santiago de la Cruz. It's fitting."

"I wanna know why." Sam says, wanting to pull the demon's attention away from Isla as much as he wants answers. "Why did you do it?"

"You mean why'd I kill Mommy and pretty little Jess?" Yellow-Eyes asks as he looks over at him.

"Yeah."

The demon smirks as he looks between Isla and Dean. "You know, he never told you this, but Sam was gonna ask her to marry him. Been shopping for rings and everything." He tells them before turning around to face Sam. Isla's head drops once he moves away from her, and Dean watches as she brings her hand up to cover her mouth. "You wanna know why? Because they got in the way."

"In the way of what?" Sam questions.

"My plans for you, Sammy. You...and all the children like you."

"Listen, you mind just getting this over with, huh?" Dean asks. "'Cause I really can't stand the monologuing."

"Funny." The demon says as he turns to face him. "But that's all part of M.O., isn't it? Mask all that nasty pain, mask the truth."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" He questions, and Isla squirms when Yellow-Eyes places his hand on her back and guides her over toward Dean as he walks that way. "Get your hands off her." He tries to push himself off the wall, but it's no use.

"You know, you fight, and you fight for this family, but the truth is they don't need you." He says as he looks down at him. "Not like you need them. Sam — he's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you. And it's obvious how he feels about this pretty little thing — the daughter he always wanted.

"When she left those years ago, it didn't take John long to find her. Because she wasn't hiding; she didn't want to get away from him. It was you she ran from." He tells him, and Dean's eyes flicker to Isla, but she won't look at him. "Isn't that right, Sunshine?"

"Go to hell." Isla mutters.

"Tell him the truth." He shoves her into him, and her hands land on Dean's torso as she steadies herself. "Tell him." He repeats as she looks up at Dean, her eyes meeting his.

"I was twenty-one, and all I wanted was to be liked. I didn't have any friends, and I wanted some, but I didn't want to be a charity case. I felt like a nescience, so I left, but that had a lot more to do with my own emotional baggage than anything you did." Isla says. "I wasn't running from you, I was running from my fears about myself. But when John found me a week after I left, it was the first time in my life I felt like someone was there because they wanted to be. And I didn't want to be alone, so I made things work with my dad's old friend. Are we done with this therapy session now?"

"It's sweet — the way you try to spare his feelings to protect whatever you think might be between you now." Yellow-Eyes says, and Dean can see the growing anger in her eyes as she listens to him. "What future do you really think you have with him?"

Isla's hands ball up into fists, and Dean tries to reach for her when he feels it against his side, but he can't get his hands to her. She throws her elbow back as hard as she possibly can, and it collides with John's rib cage. The surprise causes him to stagger back, and then she spins around to punch him in the face. She then runs for the gun, and she grabs it from the table before turning to aim it at him as she cocks it.

Yellow-Eyes smiles as he looks at her, wiping blood from his now split lip. "You kill me, you kill your boyfriend's daddy." He tells her.

"I know." Her aim drops, and she squeezes the trigger.

He looks down at his leg as those same blue lights emit from the bullet wound as when she killed the demon before. He goes down, falling to his right side, and both boys drop from where they've been stuck to the walls.

Isla lets out a deep sigh as she lowers the gun, and both boys run over to her. Sam takes the Colt from her hand as Dean makes her turn to face him, and she looks up to meet his worried eyes.

"Are you okay?" Dean asks, and she nods as she leans into him. "Everything's gonna be fine." He says as he wraps his arms around her.

"Dad?" Sam inches closer to him. "Dad?"

"Sammy!" John suddenly yells, having heard his son's voice, and they all jump. "It's still alive. It's inside me. I can feel it. You shoot me."

"What? No!" Isla says as she looks over at them.

"You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart, son!" John orders. "Do it, now!"

"Sam, don't you do it." Dean says from behind him.

"You gotta hurry. I can't hold on to it much longer." John tells him, continuing to yell at him to shoot so that they can kill the yellow-eyed demon.

"Sam, no."

"Don't." Isla begs, and he lowers the gun.

John suddenly starts screaming the same way that Meg did earlier, and black smoke shoots out of his mouth. They all watch as the smoke clouds above John's head before moving down and disappearing into the floorboards.

"Get him up. We need to get the hell out of here." The blonde says, and the boys quickly move to help their dad to his feet because of the bullet wound in his leg.

They get John outside, and the boys lower him into the passenger seat of the Impala. Sam quickly heads for the driver's seat, since he already has the key, and Isla tosses her own keys over to Dean. He gets in on the driver's side as she climbs in on the passenger side, and he's the first to pull away from the cabin.

"Bobby's place or the hospital?" Isla asks once Dean's on the highway with Sam trailing behind them.

"Hospital's probably smarter — considering the bullet in his leg." He says, to which she agrees.

"He's gonna be pissed."

"Why do you think I'm riding with you?" He glances at her, and she chuckles as she settles in the middle of the seat.

"So, you're not mad at me too?" She asks as she looks over at him.

"What the hell for?"

"For using two bullets in less than twelve hours."

"You just saved our asses twice in less than twelve hours, angel face. You get a pass." He tells her, and she smiles. She likes it when he calls her that.

Isla looks out the passenger side window just in time to see a set of headlights gunning straight for them. "Dean, look out!" The blonde yells, and he presses harder on the gas as Sam slams on the brakes behind them. The big-rig hits the truck bed, and sends the vehicle spinning.